Personnel Systems - Petrocelli PDF

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Police Personnel Systems Evolution of Hiring Standards ● 1964 ○ Civil Rights Act ■ Gave parameters as to how the government has to conduct itself when hiring individuals ○ Title VII of 1964 Civil Rights Act ■ Prohibited discrimination against certain classifications of people ● Federal law says you cannot discriminate someone based on their race, nationality, religion ■ Underrepresentation of minorities ● Companies need to actively hire and promote non-whites and women ● Griggs v. Duke Power Company (1971) ○ Major holding of case: didn’t matter if discrimination was intentional or unintentional; it had to be eliminated ■ Discrimination can occur if proven to be a “business necessity” and that your business can suffer ● Example: must be able to speak understandable English to be a telemarketer, cannot work with children if history of violence or sexual crimes, Hooters did not hire a man ○ Criteria to sue for discrimination ■ Disparate Rejection (⅘ rule) ● Selection rate for minority candidates had to be 80% or ⅘ of the acceptance rate for majority candidates ■ Restricted Policy ● Policy restricts certain classification of people from being hired ■ Population Comparison ● Compare demographics of company or organization to demographics of area the company operates ■ McDonnell Douglas Test ● International defense contractor that makes systems that support military ● Said if a qualified minority applies for a job and are rejected, company can be sued if they continue to advertise the job ○ Many organizations in 1970s moved to a quota system (now illegal) to avoid being sued ■ Set aside a certain amount of positions that HAD to go to minorities ■ Challenged in Bakke v. California (1978) ● Bakke scored well on MCAT and is rejected from a medical school he applied to; Files lawsuit; makes it to supreme court ● University had quota system and needed more minorities ○ Reverse discrimination ● Ruled he was discriminated against for being a white male, even had higher qualifications than accepted minority candidates ■ Affirmative Action (present)

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In order to make up for historic inequality, most likely choose minority candidate if same qualifications ○ Wards Cove Packing v. Antonia ■ Major holding: said population comparisons MUST be based on number of QUALIFIED minorities in community, not entire population ○ Equal Employment Act ■ Quotas are illegal ■ Veterans hiring preference for government jobs as thank you Non-Whites in Policing Profession ● Historically a challenge to recruit and retain non-whites in the policing profession ● Institutional Barriers ○ A department or police in general has a negative image to the community ■ Perceived as racist or unaccepting of non-whites ● Rodney King beating, Michael Brown shooting ● Personal Preference Barriers ○ Perception that non-whites, particularly African Americans, are selling out to an organization that oppressed them ■ Seen as betrayal ● Why is Diversity Important? ○ People from certain ethnic or racial groups have a better understanding of the community they police if they are the apt to the cultural norms and are part of the group ○ Gives police a more positive image to have more minorities ■ More effective in overcoming barriers of race ○ Positive Impact on Policy Formulation ■ The more minorities involved in making policies = more diverse and fair policies Women in Law Enforcement ● Look at how women perform in law enforcement and on the street ○ Arrest rate between men and women is identical ● Use of force ○ Women use less force than men ○ Female officers hurt themselves less and sustain less injuries to suspects than male officers ■ Women tend to be very good at de escalating situations ● Socialization ○ Boys and girls are socialized (taught) differently ■ Males are brought up and encouraged to be more physically aggressive than women ○ Men’s masculinity and ego is threatened if unaggressive; quickly jump to physical aggression ○ Women are much less likely to use force because their ego is not tied to their aggression ● Sexual Harassment ○ Law enforcement does not tolerate it anymore; one of first institutions to punish males for harassing females

Selection Standards for Officers ● Screening In vs. Screening Out ○ Screening Out (past) ■ Cons: minimal qualifications to even be considered to submit an application ○ Screening In (present) ■ Pros: more requirements to submit an application ● Drug tests, education, no convictions ● Written Tests ○ Negates nepotism (family ties); highest scores on tests get to move forward; no favoritism ○ Smarter applicants ● Residency Requirements ○ Must live within a certain radius of the jurisdiction you are going to police in a the time of hire; only some areas ○ Pros: familiar with the area, property taxes, better relations with community, faster response time if live closer ○ Cons: elevated danger for officer (may become target if know where lived), may not want family to be exposed to (high crime) area, can lose good candidate if they do not want to live there, limit applicant pool, no other profession requires ● Age ○ Minimum age requirement typically 21 years old, maximum age requirement for hire is 40 years old ○ Pros- YOUNG: in it for long run, blank slate and can be trained from scratch, prime physical shape, newer perspective (more aware of current society), more availability and flexibility (no family, etc.), more motivated and hungry to do well at job; not yet worn down from job and life, need younger people for certain assignments (undercover work, etc.) ○ Cons-YOUNG: not mature enough, lack of life experiences, different perspectives could affect how they enforce the law and use discretion ● Education ○ Minimum requirement is high school diploma or GED ■ Many now require college degree; Federal always requires college degree ○ Pros: college experience makes you a more well rounded individual, interacting with diverse groups at college, college gives exposure to a variety of people ○ Cons: people can learn in the academy training or in the field rather than in the classroom ○ Davis v. Dallas ■ 1985 ■ Davis applied to Dallas police department which required college credits, Davis sued and didn’t think he needed college ■ Major holding: policing profession is sufficiently complex; at least some college is justified ● Vision ○ Must have certain visual ability, 20/20 correctable vision ■ Firing a weapon accurately, observation, identifying suspects

● Physical Fitness Test ○ In past: 2 mile run, push ups, sit ups, waist measurement ○ Thomas v. Evanston (city in IL) ■ 1985 ■ Major holding: if police have fitness requirement, must mirror what police officers actually do ● Now like an obstacle course; measures endurance, agility, more designed for police officer duties ○ Pros: better ability to defend yourself, authority presence of an officer ○ Cons: don’t have to be retested, no requirement to maintain original level of physical fitness ● Medical Test ○ Required full medical physical exam ○ Costs a lot of money to train a police officer; want to make sure the officer will last in the field and doesn’t have any conditions ○ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ■ If an agency chooses not to hire you because you have a disability, they must be able to prove in court that the medical condition negates the person from performing the tasks of the job ● Psychological Testing ○ Required full psychological exam ○ Hild v. Bruner (1980) ■ A department can be held liable if they fail to test an applicant for psychological screening ○ MMPI ■ Can identify traits a person has or doesn’t have ○ Meet with a psychologist ■ Answer their questions ○ Rorschach (Inkblot) Test ● Background Check ○ ALL departments do a background check ○ Goal: to uncover any criminal or undesirable behavior ○ Look at: ■ Driving record ■ Criminal record ● Worse to lie on application than to find an offense ■ Work attendance record ● Be honest about work history ■ Talk to your references; and people you don’t expect ■ Ask about your background and where you’ve lived ■ Financial matters ● Credit history; student loans ■ Drug and alcohol history ● Look at: recency of use, pattern/frequency of use, types of drugs used, sale/distribution of drugs ● Reasonable social alcohol consumption is normal

○ Excessive drinking not accepted ● Limited amount of marijuana use is accepted in certain departments; others may be accepted depending on place ○ Some do not accept any drug use at all ● Last Step: Polygraph Examination ○ Measures fluctuation in your voice, heart rate, perspiration...